Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 132031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Cash couldn’t hold back his raised brows. No, he hadn’t gotten that far. He mashed his lips together to keep the million questions he had from spilling out. The entire case was better than a soap opera.
So what game was Keyes playing? What was his angle?
If the DEA had gained the information, surely the club had it too. Maybe not, though. For all the spouting of allegiance and dedication, the members didn’t gather together all that frequently.
Vernie surprised Cash when she came around the table, taking Ben’s arm, nodding down at the surveillance gear. “You good with this?”
Cash couldn’t suppress his grin and nodded. Ben didn’t seem surprised to be manhandled from the table when Vernie lifted his arm, pulling him from the seat. “Come on, mouthy. You’re done. This isn’t the All My Children, Havoc Edition.” Vernie glanced back at Cash. “He doesn’t get out much.”
Ben took it all in good fun, pushing his chair under the table, Vernie still tugging at his arm. “You need a night out, I’m your guy. Know all the slappin’ places. It’ll be clutch.”
“I bet you do,” Vernie said suggestively, dragging him away.
“My cubicle’s around the corner. I’m B Carson 5 on the internal messaging app,” Ben said before Vernie pushed him out of view. His voice could still be heard. “Let me know what you need. I’ll make sure you have it.”
Whether that was Ben’s attempt at flirting, or the guy really did need a friend, Cash wasn’t sure, but he’d pocket the invitation. He’d probably need both a friend and information before much more time passed. He quickly checked the batteries and charge on the equipment still on the desk, and gathered it all back inside a plain, unmarked cardboard box.
As the clues fell into place, his gut told him Ben was right, but from the other side. Important parts of intelligence were being excluded. His head swam with the possibility.
How in the heck was Keyes Dixon actively albeit secretly dating such a prominent member of society?
Everything he knew about the so-called brothers of Havoc would find Keyes’s activities a complete betrayal. Keyes would lose his life over it, which made the risk that much greater.
Cash couldn’t let the thought go. He’d make a trip to Tires, see what he could learn.
Not fifteen minutes later, he took the turn into Tires parking lot. Much like he’d ascertained about this particular area of South Dallas, the revitalization ended about a mile and a half ago.
A thriving retail area was less than two miles from this tire shop but that stretch of land mattered. The tire shop was in a rough part of town yet full of expensive cars and trucks in their lot.
There had to be six or seven men working between the vehicles in various states of tire changes. Cash pulled his sports car into the only available spot. The car’s engine turned off, a feature he hadn’t disabled, and pushed the door open when a shadow covered him and the entire hood of his car.
As he got to his feet, he was careful to button the jacket of his suit, hiding his underarm holstered weapon. Cash rarely felt intimidated. His own size gave him confidence, but Keyes was slightly bigger in both height and bulk. His strong arm, with an enormous bicep, and big palm held a cell phone. He stared at Cash.
Keyes didn’t utter a single word. Only his manicured eyebrow cocked upward after several seconds of silence as Cash stood there, reconciling the young boy he’d once known to the man before him.
Keyes hadn’t changed. He’d always been a big guy with long hair.
How hadn’t Keyes been more intimidating to him as a child? Probably because he had thought everyone had good on the inside.
His next thought was that the assistant district attorney clearly had a thing for big, bad boys.
He grinned and glanced down at the tires on his car, spouting out the question he’d googled at the last red light. Besides the sofa, he’d also never owned a vehicle. Those had always been issued by the government. “I’m looking for a set of run-flat tires for my car. Do you have any?”
Keyes shifted his attention to his phone screen, his thumb moving over the buttons. “Goddammit.” His index finger started pushing at the delete button until he began typing again. “Yeah, I can do four Goodyears for five hundred, or let’s say four-fifty a piece. Final offer.”
The heavy rumbling of motorcycles thundered in the distance, drawing Keyes’s attention. His stare looked fierce as he cut his gaze to the entrance of the parking lot. Cash followed the view to see the club’s president turning into the lot, flanked by two men. One was Mack—Cash had seen him in the surveillance footage. He didn’t know the other.
Where both he and Keyes tensed, Keyes chest expanded. The muscles in his arm flexed and his brows lowered menacingly. That wasn’t Cash’s reaction at all. He automatically went loose and reached down to unbutton his suit coat for better access to his weapon.